Electrical connector



April 2, 1957 v R. MARTINES 2,787,774

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Jan. 8, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

AT TORNEYS.

T Rene Mara/.i465 Y United States Patent ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Rene Martines, Warwick, R. I.

Application Ilanuary 8, 1954, Serial No. 402,974

1 Claim. (cl. 339-256) This invention relates to an electrical connector, particularly the `female or socket member of such connector.

An object of the invention is to improve electrical connectors of this general type.

A more specific object is to provide an electrical con- Hector socket member so constructed as to provide for a large contact area between the said socket member and the blade of the companion male member of the electrical connector.

Another object is to provide an electrical connector socket member so constructed as to prevent any appreciable distortion between the contacting surfaces of the socket and blades members when connected to each other.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an electrical connector socket member embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of an electrical connector blade member;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the connector shown in Figures 1 and 2 in the assembled relation thereof;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 4 4 of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 5--5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 6-6 of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the connector member illustrated in Figure l;

Figure 8 is a plan view on a smaller scale of the blank employed for making the connector shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a top plan view of a modied construction of connector;

Figure 10 is a top plan view of a pair of the connectors shown in Figure 9 in assembled relation; and

Figure 1l is a perspective view of a fragmental portion of another modiiication of electrical connector.

In carrying out my invention, I make the electric connector socket member from a blank cut from sheet metal by bending up opposite portions of the blank to form a channel having a bottom wall and right angular side walls. I raise a central bridge from the stock of the bottom wall to extend laterally across the channel from side wall to side wall and spaced from the bottom wall of the channel a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the blade of the male member of the electric connector. Thus, a slot is formed to receive and enclose the blade on all sides thereof. A small domeshaped protuberance is raised on the under side of the bridge at the mid point and this protuberance is spaced from the bottom wall a distance less than the thickness of the blade so as to place a resilient tension on the blade at substantially the mid point to press the same in rm contact with the bottom wall of the channel. The ends of the bridge are integral with the channelfand this prevents any appreciable distortion of the bridge from a xed relation with the bottom wall of the channel when placed under pressure by a force acting between the bottom wall and the bridge. This assures proper electrical contact between the members over a long period of use.

Referring to Figures 1 to 8, the invention is shown embodied in the female or socket member 15 of an elec tric connector, the male or second member 16 being a simple rectangular tongue or blade of sheet metal having shoulders 17 to limit penetration of member 16 into member 15 and having in one or opposite faces a depression 18.

The blank 15' (Figure 8) is cut to shape from suitable sheet metal and opposite marginal edge portions 19 of the blank are sharply bent up to form a channel having a bottom wall 2i) and right angular side walls 21. Two lateral slits 22 are cut through the bottom wall 20 from one side wall to the other. These slits are parallel and spaced apart to define a strip 23, the ends of which are integrally joined with the side walls 21. The strip 23 is then swaged by means of a suitably shaped die to be raised from adjacent portions of the wall 20 to form a bridge 24 with slides 25 extending in close adjacency to the walls 21. During the swaging operation or at a subsequent step, a small dome-shaped protuberance 26Y is formed at the mid portion of the bridge 24 to extend toward the bottom Wall.

The member 15 is provided with an extension 27 having a pair of outer arms 28 between which the end of a conductor 29 is positioned and attached to the connector by wrapping the said arms 28 about the covering or insulation of the conductor. The extension has a pair of inner arms 30 for wrapping about the wires 31 of the conductor from which the insulationhas been removed.

The bridge 24 is located substantially centrally of the channel portion and is made of a length between the sides 25 slightly greater than the width of the blade 16 and is spaced from adjacent portions of the bottom wall 2t) a distance slightly greater than the thickness of the said blade. The blade 16 is attached to the member 15 by inserting the same between the bridge 24 and the bottom wall 20. Upon inserting the blade 16 into the member 15, the protuberance 26 will be engaged and cause a flexing of the bridge suflicient to permit forcing the said blade past the bridge until the shoulders 17 engage the adjacent ends of the side walls 21 (Fig. 3). The protuberance will ride into the depression 18 and will exert a sufficient force on the blade 16 to press the same into engagement with the surface of the wall 20, this assuring good electrical contact between the connectors. The bridge 24 forms a slot extending laterally across the channel, and since the sides of the bridge are integrally joined to the sides of the channel, the spacing between the bridge and the wall 20 is permanently xed so that a very large number of connections and disconnections can be made without causing any appreciable permanent distortion of the bridge and thus maintain the said spacmg.

In Figure 9 I have shown amodication which is similar to the connector shown in Figure 1 and has a tongue or blade 32 attached thereto which is provided with a small dome-shaped protuberance 33 at substantially its mid point on one side and a corresponding recess on the other side. Thus, both connectors may be made identical, the blade 32 of one being received in the channel portion of the other, as illustrated in Figure 10 and the protuberances interlocking.

In Figure 11 I have shown a further modilication in which the bottom wall 20 of the channel is depressed in a substantially semi-circular shape 34 in cross section, and the bridge 24 is arched on a semi-circular shape conforming to the shape and size of the circular portion 34 and having a small dome protuberance 26. Thus, there is provided a connector adapted to receive a cylindrical shape blade (not shown).

I claim:

An electric connector member comprising a piece of sheet metal having opposite marginal edge 'portions extending at right angles to said piece to form a channel with bottom and side walls, the bottom wall of said channel having two lateral parallel slits therethrough deining a strip extending from side to side of said channel, said strip being struck from said bottom wall to form a bridge with its ends formed parallel to the side walls and intregal with the marginal edges of said bottom wall to give rigidity to said strip at the ends thereof and exibility at the mid section, said bridge extending in spaced relation to said bottom wall to form a slot for the reception of a male contact member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

